Calling home helps crews stay happy
A new card calling service that gives affordable communication between ship crew members and their families has just been launched.
The package will make 24/7 communication available for just pence per minute, which, Danielle Edwards of NSSL explained to
MJ
, means a lot to modern crew. ‘It was noticed that for members of the forces stationed abroad, being able to call home meant that they could still be part of the family decision making process, and a valuable part of the family, and so better able to cope. We thought that the same thing probably applied to crew members, who can be separated from their families for appreciable lengths of time while onboard ship.’
It has been developed as part of the Fleet Broadband offering by NSSL, which is aimed at a maritime market sector wishes to adopt onboard technology but also wants to be able to keep a lid on costs.
Ms Edwards explained that there are quite a few levels of capability to the Fleet Broadband offering. Entry level one is both cheap and serviceable for voice calls and downloads, while the full package gives the kind of functionality received with landside broadband services. All packages function with a core service, but there is an extra ‘Premium’ rate for such as faster downloads while in dock.
To help operators feel they can keep in control of spending, there are email alerts that can be set up to show when and how bills are mounting up or accruing to certain parts of the service, all of which is designed to help the people who pay for the service to understand what is happening to their communications budget.
The capabilities of the offering vary. A standard IP connection delivers up to 432kbps over a shared channel which is used for e-mail, internet and intranet access, while the voice component has an allowance of 4kbps. The optional premium rate data connection runs at 256 kbps (similar to landside connections) and there is a 3.1kHz audio service for occasions when a better line is required.
The service supports ISDN at 64kbps for legacy applications. This service also supports the sending and receiving of text messages, which is a very popular option although it is not included as part of the crew calling service and means sailors must pay an additional 30p per text.
This monitoring of airtime usage, call tracking, billing and account information plus a level of customised reporting should help the smaller operators put a careful toe in the water of onboard broadband while adding an important boost to morale on board ship.
